THREE O'CLOCK - VERMILLION

I knew nothing about Three O'Clock when I picked up the cassette at a record store in Ogden, Utah...  What I did know is that the side of the cassette had the Paisley Park record label symbol.  And that was enough for me.

Up until that point, Prince had contributed at least one song per Paisley Park release and I bought this one along with Good Question expecting the same.  Imagine my surprise when I heard the Good Question record and couldn't find a trace of Prince influence anywhere...  

And then I listened to this one.  Again, an album without much Prince influence.  Although he isn't credited as the writer on the cassette liner notes, Prince did contribute 'Neon Telephone'.  That was obvious for a number of reasons.  The first being, it sounded like him...  Second, Wendy & Lisa sang background on the track and finally, the song is inspired by a scene from the film, "Under The Cherry Moon".  If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.

However...  Unlike Good Question with no Prince input, the Three O'Clock album is actually pretty good on it's own.  Granted, I wouldn't have purchased it if it wasn't on the Paisley Park label or contained the Prince song, but once I owned it and listened to it, I enjoyed it.  There are a couple of stand out tracks on this record.  From the opening swells of the instrumental segue 'Vermillion' to the soft lullaby quality of 'Through The Sleepy Town', the music has an early 80's alt rock sensibility.  Very similar to the first Bangles record. 

You could draw comparisons to the Beatles, but in my opinion, that's a less obvious choice.  They were part of a movement in L.A. called the Paisley Underground.  I only know this because I'm reading it on Wikipedia.  That's one musical movement in the 80's I had no concept of.  No clue it was going on.

Like most Paisley Park releases, the Three O'Clock album is now out of print so you won't find new copies of this disc in stores.  But it's still around on eBay and Amazon.  With exciting tracks like 'Love Explosion', 'Neon Telephone' and 'On Paper', you won't go wrong with this record.  I still think it's better suited for Prince fans, or collectors who are completing collections.  But it's not a bad listen for those who are casually moving through music.  Download it and give it a go.

My final words: ANOTHER UNDISCOVERED PAISLEY PARK GEM!

THREE O'CLOCK - VERMILLION
01. Vermillion
02. Love Explosion
03. To Be Where You Are
04. When She Becomes My Girl
05. World On Fire
06. Neon Telephone
07. On Paper
08. Ways Of Magic
09. Time's Going Slower
10. Love Has No Heart
11. Through The Sleepy Town

GOOD QUESTION - GOOD QUESTION

Good Question was a one-off band appearing on the Paisley Park label back in 1988. The band is basically two brothers with minuscule singing ability. They were obviously discovered to compete with 80's flop band Milli Vanilli who enjoyed success around the same time or because someone thought they had a sexy image. Regardless of which way you look at it, this is one of the worst pieces of music committed to tape in the history of modern pop.

There is nothing, from the bland uninspired generic arrangements, to the trite forgettable throw away lyrics; I repeat nothing worth listening to. The vocal performances seem forced and juvenile. As for image, the brothers are twinky little girly boys with about as much sex appeal as a brick wall. Their one video features popular dance moves but nothing original and different.

It seems to me, this band was created in an attempt to ride a musical trend rather than push musical boundaries like so many Paisley Park acts did during its short life span. The Prince involvement is non-existent; which probably explains the lack of any musical ingenuity whatsoever. This record devalues the integrity of all other artists appearing on the label.

The one redeeming quality of the disc is the fact it appears on Paisley Park. Without that distinction, that little paisley symbol on records, cassettes and CDs, there wouldn't be anything worth salvaging here. They're not even worth the time or energy it would take to destroy them. The only people in the world who will buy this material are die-hard Prince fans and possibly family members of the brothers.

It's a funny thing to have someone come up to you and make your dreams come true because they think you're pretty whereas so many truly talented and deserving people are overlooked and left by the wayside. It actually offends me so many resources and money were invested in such a wasted project as this. Even in the creative process, they had to know it was crap. I can't believe Rosie Gaines' 'Concrete Jungle' wasn't released and this dribble was. Very disappointing.

As much as I love Paisley Park and what it did back in the day, I hate to give one of its bands such a poor review, but I have absolutely no choice if I want to be honest in my critique. My final words: SKIP IT.

GOOD QUESTION - GOOD QUESTION
01. Got A New Love
02. Body Contact
03. Dance With Me
04. One On One
05. Listen To Your Heart
06. Private Property
07. Real Love
08. Mysterious Lady
09. Like An Explosion
10. One More Time